NER 



I\ T E R 



which form the spike are distant from each other, 

 and sit close to the stalk : the leaves short, oval, 

 heart-shaped : the plant is hoary and strong scent- 

 ed. It is a native of Italy, flowering from .lime 

 to August. 



Tlu- fifth lias a thick knobbed root, from which 

 come out one or two stalks, that often decline 

 to the ground ; they are about two feet and a 

 half long, and send out two side branches op- 

 posite: the leaves are oblong, civnatc, sessile, 

 deep green : the upper part of the stalk, for more 

 than a foot in length, has whorls of flowers, the 

 lower ones two inches asunder, but nearer all 

 the way up ; thev sit very close to the stalks, and 

 are guarded by small bractes: the corolla is blue. 

 It is a native of Spain and Portugal, flowering 

 from June to August. 



Culture. — These plants are capable of being 

 increased by seeds, parting the roots, slips, and 

 cuttings, but the first is the. principal mode. 



The seeds mav be sown in the autumn or 

 spring, on a bed of light earth, raking it in 

 lightly : when the plants have attained some 

 growth, they may be planted out in nurserv rows, 

 to remain till the autumn, when they may be set 

 out where they are to remain ; or they may re- 

 main where sown, only thinning them properly 

 out. 



The partings of the roots may be set out se- 

 parately, where they are to remain, in the be- 

 ginning of the autumn, or spring, being after- 

 wards kept free from weeds. 



Slips or cuttings of the branches may be 

 planted out in the spring in shady situations, 

 occasional supplies of water being given till 

 thev have stricken root. 



The first sort and varieties, as well as manv of 

 the others, may afford variety in the borders, 

 clumps, and other parts of pleasure-grounds, in 

 mixture with herbaceous plants of different de- 

 scriptions. Thev are likewise some of them 

 cultivated for medicinal use. 



NKKIUM, a genus comprehending plants of 

 the evergreen flowering shrubby kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Pentandria 

 Motngynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Contortce, 



The characters are : that the calyx is a five- 

 parted perianthiuro, acute, very small, perma- 

 nent: the corolla is one-petalled, funnel -form-; 

 tube cylindric, shorter than the border: bonier 

 very large, five-parted) segments wide, blunt, 

 oblique: nectary a crown termin.uiiiL r the tube, 

 short, lacerated into capillary segments : the 

 stamina have five, awl-shapetl fjlarn nts, very 

 short, in the tube of the corolla : anthers sagit- 

 tate, converging, terminated by a long thread: 

 the pistilltm a roundish germ, bifid: style cy- 



\ CM.. II. 



limbic, the length of the tub" : stigma truncate, 

 sitting on an orblet, fastened to the anthers : the 

 pericarpium has two follicles, round, long, acu* 



initiate, erect, one- valvcd, opening longitudinally: 

 the seeds numerous, oblong, crowned with down, 

 placed imbricately. 



The species cultivated are: 1. A', oleander, 

 Common Rosebay, or Oleander ; 2. A. odorum, 

 Sweet- Scented Rosebay, or Oleander: 3. /V. 

 antidysentericum, Oval-Leaved Rosebay; 4. A''. 

 coronarium, Broad-Leaved Rosebay. 



The first rises with several stalks to the height 

 of eight or ten feel : the branches come out 

 by threes round the principal stalks, and have 

 a smooth bark, which in that with red flowers i-. 

 of a purplish colour, but in that with white 

 flowers of a light green : the leaves for the most 

 part stand by threes round the stalks, upon very 

 short footstalks, and point upwards; they are three 

 or four inches long, ami three quarters of an inch 

 broad in the middle, of a dark green, very stir!', 

 and end in acute points : the flowers come out 

 at the end of the branches in large loose bunches, 

 and are of a bright purple, or crimson colour, 

 or of a dirty white. It is a native of the Levant, 

 flowering in July and August. 



In warm dry summers this plant makes a fine 

 appearance, the flowers then opening in great 

 plenty; but in cold moist seasons the flowers 

 often decay without expanding, unless the plants 

 are placed in a green-house or under a glass- 

 case. 



The variety with white flowers is the most ten- 

 der; but there are others, as the Stripe-leaved ; the 

 Broad-leaved Double-flowered, the Striped Dou- 

 ble-flowered, and with different shades of red 

 from purple to crimson or scarlet. 



The second species rises with shrubby stalks 

 six or seven feet high, covered with a brown 

 bark : the leaves are stiff, from three to four 

 inches long, and not more than a quarter of an 

 inch broad, of a light green, and the edges re- 

 flexed ; they are opposite, or alternate, or 

 by three'; round the branches : the flowers are 

 produced in loose bunches at the ends of the 

 branches ; tlu y are of a pale red, ami have an 

 agreeable musky scent. It grows naturally in 

 India, flowering from June to August. 



There is a variety with leaves six inches lone, 

 and one inch broad in the middle, ofa much thin- 

 ner texture than those of the first, and their ends 

 are generally reflexed ; they arc ofa light green, 

 and irregularly placed on the branches by pairs, 

 alternately, or by threes : the flowers are pro- 

 duced in very large bunches at the end of 

 the branches, upon long peduncles ; thev have 

 three or four rows of petals one w ilhin another: 

 tbev are much larger than those of the common 

 U 



